They don't belong to me. If they did, the new shows would be much better (sorry fans, I'm not crazy for the new shows :o )

Enjoy :)


Citadel


Eric knew better then to run off into the mist blind, but at the moment he hadn't been thinking like a cop or a CSI or like a sane human being. His only thought was to the man that looked like Speed. He couldn't think, couldn't focus, couldn't…

Argh, what did it matter?

He could hear Arcadia's words in his head.

"Go with haste, young man. Be alert, and be brave, and you'll find what you are looking for."

She was right. He couldn't let Speed walk out of his life again, not without trying to find out what the hell was going on. He just wasn't wired that way.

So against his better judgment, he ran blindly into the misty night.


He ran for what seamed like hours. His heart pulsed, and his blood ran hot, like lava in his veins. It hurt, the body not meant to do such things. And no matter how fit he was, it was still a hard run: trying to avoid randomly appearing boulders, and rocks, and running up and down.

He couldn't help but think of that old video game Speed would play in the dark of the night (and scoff at, despite jumping every three seconds) about a father looking for his daughter in some remote town in the middle of nowhere.

'It was that Silent Hill game…the one he clutched my arm in when the game got too dark…' The thought made him laugh, despite his sharp loss of breath.

Imagine, comparing life to a video game! It sounded like something a perp would do, not the well-educated CSI.

No, he was too smart for that.

Then why had he run off into the fog like this? When he stopped, surrounded by fog and unable to see his hand in front of his face, he suddenly realized how stupid he had been. He hadn't even told Horatio where he was, hadn't even bothered to make sure that his gun was fully loaded, hadn't even brought his kit with him, (God forbid he found evidence…)

It was just a whole list of don'ts and Delko couldn't help feeling foolish.

Whoosh

The noise made Delko swerve around.

Click-click

It sounded like Paws on wet cement. A horrible sent suddenly floated in the air. It smelled like…like…

"Rotting flesh." The words rolled of his mouth smoother then he'd wanted them too.

All at once, something leapt out of the mist, careening for the younger CSI. His hand was on his gun in a heartbeat, his finger pulling the trigger faster then a whisper. The blasts echoed around the area, and became as loud as thunder claps. One of the things fell over, but two more took it's place. With every well placed shot, the things seamed to multiply. They snarled and bucked, like wild dogs that had happened on a wounded deer after a dry spell. Soon, he was surrounded from all sides by the horrible shadows that seemed to writhe like creatures in the muck of a swamp.

Click-click-click

"Damn it!" He cursed. The gun was out of bullets, and there were more of the Things then ever. They snarled and spat, saliva visibly dropping to the ground, but they never approached closer then a what the mist allowed them without being fully seen. Finally, one ran up and jumped on him, knocking them both down. Eric pushed back, holding the thing around the neck, and it screamed in both frustration and hunger. For once, Delko got to actually see what was attacking him.

It wasn't pretty. Actually, it was quite frightening. The thing looked like a skinned dog, with it's head upside down. It opened it's mouth, it's jaws snapping, trying to get at the Cuban's neck. A tongue lolled out and pressed against the flesh. The screams became even louder, and suddenly the tongue pulled back, became long and sharp, and thrust itself into Eric's shoulder.

His moth opened in a silent scream. The pain was…there was no description of it; it was just awful. It felt as if every blood vessel in his body had seemingly decided to explode, slowly and soundly.

He thought his eyes were boiling in is sockets. The thing seamed to laugh at his pain, and Delko crumpled into himself, waiting for the sweet release of the dog's fangs.

It didn't come. Only the shrill screams of dogs and the smell of old blood. He squeezed his eyes shut as a warm spray splashed over him. The…dogs. They must have been fighting about who would get the first bite. It sure sounded like it….

Suddenly, it was silent. All except the soft, wet splats of feet. He forced his eyes open (despite the screaming pain in his head). The dark, hunched over figure stood over him, leaning on the staff with the curved blade. His eyes glowed an unholy white, and narrowed as he knelt down. The shadow placed a rough thumb under Delko's chin, and forced him to look up.

"What about "leave"…did you not understand?" He spat angrily.

Delko tried to work his mouth. All he could muster were the pathetic twisting of his lips.

The…poison…it's spreading…

The pain was almost too much. He could feel every pore of his body screaming, like he had been thrown into a fire pit.

He blacked out.


The shadow huffed, and then tossed Delko's limp body over his shoulder. He could feel his mussels twitch in agony. He had to hurry...a few more moments, and Delko would be dead.

The shadow ran deep into the mist, and faster still, until the soft splick-splick of blood covered feet couldn't be heard. The quickly rotting corpses stared on blankly with sewn-shut eyes...all except for one. The one that still gave a few shallow breaths of life. The yarn that held it's eyes together had pulled apart in the sturggle, and now, he opened hid eyes, looking around the bloodied area. He disregarded the courpses, and instead looking into the sky that seemed a forever grey. He looked forward, into the trees that led on from the road. On the side, lay a single flower, it's petal tips a vibrent blue. He pulled himself to it, a line of crimson following his body, and gently plucked it with his stubby paws. He sniffed...it smelled like...like...

home...

He died happy.


The flies didn't seam to care, however. They were too busy tending to the maggots that were now feeding on the revolting slices of flesh that were scattered around the area. Blood stained the ground, and even when the rain started, the crimson stayed imbedded to the soil.


For maybe a moment, he wanted to kiss him. Just to see what it felt like, kissing your best friend. Would it be weird? Perhaps...most likely.

What was more likely was that he would push him roughly away, scream, yell, curse…oh, it was just too horrible to think about…

He pushed the thoughts from his mind, and bent himself back over his work. Soil samples weren't going to analyze themselves, you know.


Tim…

Speedle….

Speed……..

"What?"

The rough voice jerked Delko from his dreams. His head throbbed, his body ached…well, at least he wasn't dead.

"Look, do you need me, or not? I was in the middle of something."

"You've got great bedside manor, Speed." Delko grumbled, trying to prop himself up on his elbows.

The pain felt like someone had punched him in the gut and shattered all of his ribs. He yowled, and nearly fell back. Luckily for him, a calloused hand caught him before he hurt himself anymore.

"Jesus, Eric!" Speed helped him back against the pillows, and propped him up so he could look around. "Take it slow. Grounder's are pretty strong, I'm amazed they didn't tear you to shreds. They did bruise a few ribs, however." Speed sat on the side of the bed, his hands folded in his lap.

"Really? Hadn't-" Eric coughed, and he felt his lungs dispel whatever was trapped in there. Phlegm piled in his mouth, and he swallowed it back down. "…Noticed…"

Speed smirked. "Still a wiseass, I see."

Eric looked up at him, studding the features of his face. He realized quickly that the thing he had hit in the road and the man sitting next to him on the bed looked totally different. While the Speed from earlier that night had had sharp, pointed fingers, fangs, and glowing eyes, this one had none of those features. This one had eyes that looked much, much too old for his age, and scars on his arms and face that just didn't look normal. The raggidy sweater this one wore looked three times to big, and was falling gently off his shoulder, which showed grey colored skin that looked as if it hadn't seen the sun in years.

Well, he did still have those weird cat eyes that had stared at him in the darkness. They weren't white anymore…they were a light brown, with a thin slit in the center. Still creepy, though...

"Speed…what are you…why?" Eric reached out, and touched his cheek, just to make sure he was there, and not a hologram.

Speed shook his head, and gently pushed him back against the bed. "Look…Eric, I know I've got a lot of explaining to do. And I will. But I can't explain anything If you haven't healed, it would just confuse you."

He stood, and pulled a warm blanket over Delko, tucking him in like a mother would do her own child.

"So, get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning. Okay?"

Eric, who suddenly felt as if he could sleep for ages, nodded, and pulled the blanket closer. He closed his eyes and was almost immediately asleep. Tim walked silently to the doorway, and with one final peak, sighed, and closed the door to the bedroom.

It was going to be a long week.